Waldo police say they had illegal traffic ticket quotas

Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 10:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 10:29 p.m.

WALDO - Five members of the Waldo Police Department told the City Council Tuesday night they were under a quota to write traffic tickets, which is a violation of Florida law.

The officers outlined a long line of grievances they had against police department command staff and city administration.

Before a packed room, Officer Brandon Roberts told commissioners they were required by Chief Mike Szabo to write 12 speeding citations per 12-hour shift or face punishment. Roberts explained his claims with the help of an electronic presentation and printed emails as evidence.

“We're doing this with a heavy heart,” Roberts said. “We would never want to go against our fellow officers but we have no faith in our chain of command.”

Waldo has long been notorious as a speed trap. In 2012, the Alachua County town of roughly 1,000 residents was rated the third worst speed trap in the country, according to a poll conducted by the National Motorists Association.

Documents provided by Waldo state that roughly half of the city's $1 million budget comes from an item listed as “police revenue.”

Roberts made his presentation after the City Council voted 3-2 in favor of reinstating the agency's fifth officer, Roy Steadman, reversing a decision City Manager Kim Worley made last month to fire him for insubordination.

Worley suspended Szabo on Aug. 12 pending the completion of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into what Worley described as an alleged violation of police procedure. Neither Worley nor FDLE officials have been willing to elaborate on the charge, citing the active investigation.

<p>WALDO - Five members of the Waldo Police Department told the City Council Tuesday night they were under a quota to write traffic tickets, which is a violation of Florida law.</p><p>The officers outlined a long line of grievances they had against police department command staff and city administration.</p><p>Before a packed room, Officer Brandon Roberts told commissioners they were required by Chief Mike Szabo to write 12 speeding citations per 12-hour shift or face punishment. Roberts explained his claims with the help of an electronic presentation and printed emails as evidence.</p><p>“We're doing this with a heavy heart,” Roberts said. “We would never want to go against our fellow officers but we have no faith in our chain of command.”</p><p>Waldo has long been notorious as a speed trap. In 2012, the Alachua County town of roughly 1,000 residents was rated the third worst speed trap in the country, according to a poll conducted by the National Motorists Association.</p><p>Documents provided by Waldo state that roughly half of the city's $1 million budget comes from an item listed as “police revenue.”</p><p>Roberts made his presentation after the City Council voted 3-2 in favor of reinstating the agency's fifth officer, Roy Steadman, reversing a decision City Manager Kim Worley made last month to fire him for insubordination.</p><p>Worley suspended Szabo on Aug. 12 pending the completion of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into what Worley described as an alleged violation of police procedure. Neither Worley nor FDLE officials have been willing to elaborate on the charge, citing the active investigation.</p>